Process for bleaching and treating flax fibers.



UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK E. BURGESS, OF COLUMIBTAVIELE, MICHIGAN.

PROCESS FOR BLEAGHING AND TREATING FLAX FIBERS.

No Drawing.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 80, 1912. Serial No. 687,458.

Patented July 30, 1912.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK E. Btmorss, a citizen of the United States, residing at Columbiaville, in the county of Lapeer and State of Michigan, have invented new anduseful Improvements in Processes for Bleaching and Treating Flax Fibers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to processes for treating and bleaching fiaxfibers and the principal object of the invention is to not only bleach the flax or linen in its raw state to a perfect white but to also destroy the woody substance found in the raw flax without injuring the fine fiber.

The process is adapted to leave the stock in condition so that it can be immediately manufactured into any textile article.

Heretofore, the process of removing the woody substance from the fine fiber and the bleaching process has been formed by two distinct operations, the first consisting and allowing the fiber to rot on the ground or to rot in vats and then bleaching the stock.

I accomplish the same results by practically one operation, and, specificallyspeaking, the invention consists in treatlng the raw flax to a caustic bath and then bleaching the stock in a bath of sulfite of sodium.

The method of carrying out the processis as follows: First, the material is boiled in water for a predetermined time to soften the fibers so that the chemicals which are applied thereto in the following steps may have rapid and direct action.- The surplus water is then removed fromthe stock by means of a hydro-extractor or any other suitable manner and the mass then subjected to a bath charged with caustic soda or caustic potash of a specific gravity of say to 60 Twaddell, at the temperature of 100 Fahrenheit or under without drying. The mass is then washed in water and subjected to a bath charged with sulfite of sodium of a suflicient strength and at a sulficient temperature to properly bleach the fiber. It has been proposed to use sodium carbid, sulfuric acid, carbon dioxid, and water to bleach the flaxfibers butby this method only a three-quarter bleach may be produced and it is essential that the stock be bleached pure wh te for in that state it can be dyed in any br ght or dull color or even manufactured without dyeing in which case the result may be a perfectly white article. With a' three-quarter bleach, this is impossible.

It is to be understood that the strength of the potash or soda bath or the strength and temperature of the bath of sulfite of sodium may be varied without deviating from my invention as good results have been obtained in baths of varying strengths and tempera tures.

What is claimed is The process of treating flax fibers which 'consists in boiling the material in water, re-

B. E. MODERMID, R. O. Wrxson. 

